Steering shaft clunk - is there a TSB or solution yet?

[fiehlsport]

My car has 47k on it and is exhibiting the steering shaft clunk when parked at at low speeds. I can feel it clunk when turning in a parking lot, and if I rock the wheel left & right while moving.

Dealer said they tried 5 other X1s on the lot and they all do it. Mine seems to have gotten worse over the last 6 months, however.

Is anyone aware of a service bulletin from BMW regarding this? If so, does the bulletin say it is a normal noise, or are people getting steering shafts replaced and the noise/feeling goes away?

It's at the point on mine where I can feel it every time I drive the car, and it seems like there is a bit of play in the steering now. Getting annoying, I hope I can get it corrected before the factory warranty runs out.

[Gregost]

I had a very similar sounding issue on a Toyota RAV4. The steering column was in 2 sections with a splined section where they joined. I separated this joint, which initially was daunting but in reality was very simple, marked locations of the shaft so I could return it to its original location, and simply coated the splined section with a loctite solution and bolted it back up. Noise gone! Toyota offered the same solution as a Tsb but the dealers were unaware and were recomending lots of unnecessary work, even down to replacing the power steering motor, which was located just behind the speedo yet the noise clearly came from the floor area where the splined joint was located. I'm not sure if the BMW has the same style of steering column but it does seem to be a very common issue across a number of cars.

[4llr]

Funny that you mention this issue, I just recently having the same exact issue. I have an appointment on Friday, I'll let you know (I'm on extended warranty btw).